Taking in a displaced Ukrainian refugee was a decision Tony Garnett and his longtime partner Lorna never expected to end their family.
Sofiia Karkadym, a refugee who moved in with the couple and their two young children on May 4, and Tony, who spoke Slovakian and her cooed back in Ukrainian, quickly formed a bond.
It didn’t take long for it to escalate to the point of action. When Tony came home from his security guard job, Sofiia would reportedly get dolled up, sashaying around the house in red lipstick and low-cut tops, according to the Sun.
After just a few days of dating each other, Sofiia, 22, and Tony, 29, we’re hitting the gym together and spending time alone in his car. Sofiia made it clear that she had a high opinion of her host during one of their one-on-ones. “She told me privately, ‘Lorna is lucky to have you,'” Tony recalled to the Sun.
Lorna, Tony’s ex-girlfriend of ten years, was warned by a neighbor after spotting them. Lorna told the Sun that her neighbor had come over to check on her because she was worried. It looked to her like they’d been a little too touchy-feely, so she left.
At home, the East-meets-West alliance was becoming more amiable by the day, as the couple’s two children were forced to share a room in order to free up space for Sofiia’s new roommate. As Tony admitted, “We were finding excuses to touch and brush against each other. In the words of one witness, “It was very seductive.”
Lorna’s tolerance was limited. Tony admitted, “I can understand that it caused arguments.” In the evenings, “Sofiia would prepare a meal for me to sample.”
The jealous Lorna had “major arguments with Sofia, asking her why she was with me all the time,” Tony reminisced. She’d inquire of Sofiia, “What’s the matter with you and him?”
“Sofia told me she didn’t know if she could continue to live with us under these circumstances,” Tony said within days of their guest’s arrival.
There’s no doubt that Lorna felt the same way: “I started to feel like the third wheel as they sat on the sofa, laughing and joking while I was ignored. ” Uncomfortable suddenly feeling unwelcome in my own house. Adding insult to injury: The couple’s two kids, six and three, followed their dad’s lead and took a shine to Sofiia.
All of this stemmed from Tony’s desire to “do the right thing,” which ironically led to this whole mess. His and Lorna’s contact information had been posted on Facebook, allowing a Ukrainian refugee to stay at their home. Sofiia was the first to respond, as fate would have it.
It was the right thing to do because they were in desperate need of it, so I decided to help them out,” Lorna said.
She had no idea that Sofiia, an IT manager from her native country who was having an affair with Tony, was part of the neediness. There is a disagreement between Lorna and Sofiia on this point. It is her contention that “from the beginning, she decided she wanted Anthony.”
“We clicked right from the start,” says Tony. “We were powerless to stop it.”
It wasn’t until May 14th that Lorna finally burst into tears after 10 days of shameless flirtation and more.
““Seeing how close we were getting was just too much for Tony,” he said. In the end, [Lorna] went after Sofiia, yelling and swearing at her until she broke down in tears. My heart sank when [Sofiia] told me she couldn’t stay under our roof anymore.
Tony told his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend, “If she’s going, I’m going,” because he couldn’t suppress his strong emotions.
According to a statement to the Sun, he said, “I knew I couldn’t give up this and suddenly it seemed like an easy decision.” Together, we packed our belongings and moved into my parents’ house.”
Lorna isn’t happy about it all. After Tony’s divorce, she remarked, “They barely know each other.” What a bizarre situation. Despite only having known her for 10 days, she’s left him. We were a normal, happy family before she arrived.”
“Her constant suspicion and tension just pushed me and Tony closer together,” says a hurt Sofiia of Lorna’s involvement in the fight. She exacerbated the situation by implying that something was going on when it wasn’t, and this was the result of that. So she’s to blame… “I’m not a wrecker of houses,” I tell myself.
It is possible that even Tony’s parents might disagree with this assessment of Tony. After initially allowing the couple to share a bed in their home, it appears that the elder Garretts have changed their minds.
Even after their story went viral, Tony and Sofiia were said to be “turfed out.” According to Tony, “The s–t has really hit the fan.” Ironically, as a refugee, he’s now in the process of finding a new place to live. There was nothing we could do about the public’s displeasure.
Most of all, Lorna appears to be in a state of disarray. The jilted girlfriend lamented, “Everything I thought I knew has been flipped on its head in the space of two weeks.” “She didn’t care about the destruction that was left behind,” Lorna insisted when talking about Sofiia.